It is common practice to remove mucous from the nasal passages, mouth and throat of a newborn baby to clear the upper respiratory passages for respiration and to prevent the unfavorable effects of that mucous being drawn into the lungs of the newborn. It has been found that the mucous can be cleared most effectively by suction through a catheter, with suction provided by the attending physician or nurse through a mouthpiece via a flexible suction tube. As shown in FIG. 1, which illustrates the apparatus of the prior art, the baby catheter 1, and the mouthpiece 2 and suction tube 5 meet at a mucous trap 6. The portion of the suction tube within the trap is short and the portion of the catheter tube within the trap is longer. This ensures that the user will aspirate air and the mucous will be trapped in trap 6. However, if the trap fills with mucous and bubbles of mucous, some may be drawn into the mouth of the user.
Because the mucous coming from the lungs generally contains a special surfactant (reduced in the respiratory distress syndrome) that encourage foaming, the mucous will foam and bubble if air is aspirated along with the mucous. The operator will ordinarily aspirate some air, as this is his indication that all the mucous has been aspirated. Some of these newbors may be infected with certain dangerous microorganisms such as AIDS, Herpes, Gonnorhea, Syphillis, etc. that represent a threat to the health of the user. Because this threat to the user is increasing, some hospitals are prohibiting the use of this device and require the use of a suction machine which is more awkward to use and presents more risk to the baby because suction is more difficult to control. Furthermore, these suction machines may spray an aerosol of mucous into the room if not carefully operated or controlled, thereby increasing the hazard they intended to avoid.